What Is My Identity?

When I waded into 1 Corinthians, I knew there would be some difficult passages to think and pray through, but gracious, even knowing that, I think I bit off a bigger piece than I anticipated. :) Holy Spirit, would you speak through me? I feel woefully underqualified to address some of these things, but I pray that You will use me as a leaky vessel, and pour through these fissures and fault-lines so that others can praise You and glorify You simply by seeing the difference between my earthly inadequacy and Your heavenly glory. Hallelujah!

Last evening, I had an illuminating conversation with a friend. We were discussing identity, which seems to be quite a timely topic that has hit the national conversation and has remained in the national conversation. This isn't a topic that is only floating around in church circles; it shows up everywhere, and it's an important one to sort through.  

Out of this conversation with my friend, the Lord took me back to one part of the passage I'd read two days ago for my blog post: "Lie Detectors and Heart Conditioning." It was 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which goes as follows: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."

And when I read it the first time for the blog post, I thought: Here's a list of things Paul says people do. 

When I read it again last night during my conversation with my beautiful and compassionate friend, I thought about it: This actually isn't a list of things Paul says people do; rather, this is a list of things Paul says people are.

And voila, we're suddenly at a major milestone in a conversation about identity. People are sexually immoral, people are idolaters, people are adulterers and male prostitutes and homosexual offenders and thieves and greedy and drunkards and slanderers and swindlers.

Then Paul drops the motherload right on top of this proclamation of identity, and it seriously gave me chills when I realized this: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).

You in your identity were these things. You are now, in your identity: washed, sanctified, and justified, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. Yeah! That's awesome!

'Cause you know what that means? I am not my own. That's right. All those things you and I cling to as a part of our identity? I was bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paid for, redeemed, ransomed by the perfect blood of the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

I. am. a. child. of. God. And because of that identity, everything that I do inside this earthly, fallen body of mine should reflect that identity. (I must say, this really convicts me in the health department.)

So this morning, when I opened up to 1 Corinthians 7 and continued on, I found more discussion of identity.

This chapter, on the surface, is a lengthy treatise on the subject of marriage. Apparently, the Corinthian church -- already founded by Paul -- had written to him asking him questions about all sorts of things: marriage, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, etc. So, given Paul's penchant for, you know, lots and lots and lots of words... (heh), no wonder this letter back to the Corinthian church is so long.

To summarize chapter 7, Paul lays out the present circumstances in which the Corinthian church finds itself: a hostile environment for those living a life that followed the teachings of Jesus. Given this environment, Paul writes that he believes it is better not to marry. "Because of the present crisis, I think that is is good for you to remain as you are. Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this" (1 Corinthians 7:26-28).

Paul's not saying that getting married is wrong, because in several other places, he writes strongly in favor of the state. But this gives us a context clue for what the Corinthian church was facing.

In 1 Corinthians 7:17-24, Paul says: "Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule that I lay down in all the churches. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised (physically, I don't think that's possible, but I think it was more the attitude Paul is addressing here). Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing (and given the heavy emphasis on circumcision in the Old Covenant before Christ's death and resurrection, this is a powerful statement)."

Paul keeps going: "Keeping God's commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you -- although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to."

Look at this: "Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him." 

Our situation is not our identity. And that's where I think we get confused sometimes, right? Our identity, when God calls us, is this: Washed. Sanctified. Justified. Child. of. God (1 Corinthians 6:11). You are not your own; you were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And that's what we cling to.

Y'all, while we are bound here on this sin-riddled earth, we're going to hurt in our various situations. Some of those situations are so hard to accept. Cancer. Childhood cancer. Mental disorders. Accidents and tragedy. On and on and on.

Which is why it's all the more important for us to remember: These things are not who we are. We are not our mental disorder. We are not our accident. We are not our cancer, or our heart problems or our terminal diagnosis. In Paul's list mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, we are not sexually immoral as an identity. We are not greedy as an identity. We are not idolaters as an identity or homosexual offenders as an identity, not if we've accepted God's free gift of cleansing from our sins. We do not carry our sins or our circumstances with us into our identity; we do not make those things our identity.

Because what is our identity? We are children of God.